1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to Sony/Philips Digital Interface (SPDIF) applications, and more particularly, to methods for transmitting and/or receiving audio data of a plurality of audio sources through a single SPDIF link, and related apparatuses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a combination of one SPDIF transmitter (Tx) and one SPDIF receiver (Rx) according to the prior art, where one SPDIF link coupled between the SPDIF transmitter and the SPDIF receiver is utilized for transmitting audio data of one audio source. The SPDIF transmitter typically comprises some functional units such as audio channel input, bi-phase mark encoding, and preamble appending, which are integrated together in this example. The SPDIF receiver typically comprises some functional units such as bi-phase mark decoding, preamble detection, and audio channel output, which are also integrated together in this example. Please refer to related standards such as Audio Engineering Society-3 (AES3), IEC-60958, and IEC-61937 for more information.
FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a combination of four SPDIF transmitters and four SPDIF receivers according to the prior art, where four SPDIF links coupled between the SPDIF transmitters and the SPDIF receivers are utilized for transmitting audio data of four audio sources, respectively. According to the prior art, there are substantially four copies of the architecture shown in FIG. 1 required for transmitting the audio data of the four audio sources. If the number of audio sources increases, related costs increase accordingly. Worst of all, when utilizing pipes for installing cables and the like, for example, a pipe connecting several locations in a building is required, and if there is not enough room for installing required number of SPDIF links, the implementation of a multiple audio source SPDIF system becomes quite complex.